By Valerie Fritchie
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)
Have you ever gotten a massage? I mean a real massage from a massage therapist in one of those fancy, relaxing places. I have, and I definitely recommend it at least once in your life.
However, I am an intense person and don’t give up control easily, especially over my own body. This stems from having seizures as a kid. That experience was something I couldn’t control, so, naturally as an adult, I don’t allow myself to be in situations where I am not in control — like roller coasters or, in this case, lying on a massage table.
After I finally realized the importance of maintaining my own health and well-being, and because my mom signed me up, I became a member of this massage spa and began regularly getting a massage.
The Brain/Body Battle
Still I struggle to allow the massage therapist to do her best job because I absolutely refuse to completely relax. It’s a curse because I know it is all in my mindset. I think if I relax completely, I may lose control of my experience and be at the mercy of the massage therapist. So I lie there and battle with myself. Crazy isn’t it?
Anyway, this one particular evening, I had struggled with a migraine all day. When it was time for my appointment, “the edge” at least was gone from the migraine. If you don’t understand migraine pain, the edge being gone is when you can finally know you are on the upswing and your migraine is leaving. The migraine is not gone yet, but leaving.
My massage therapist asked me what she should work on, and I let her know about my migraine and that it would be great if she could concentrate on my head, neck, and shoulders. So she did just that. We chitchatted, and then I got really quiet. I began the battle in my head: relax, no, relax, I can’t, relax, ummm not sure, come on, just relax.
My massage therapist and I are close friends, and typically I go see her as much for our conversations as I do for the massage. It’s just double therapy! She must have sensed my need to be quiet, because normally we talk and laugh together a lot, but she was quiet too.
So finally my body won the battle over my brain, and I let out a deep breath and made up my mind to relax into that table.
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“Stop worrying about tomorrow, and stop trying to make your life happen.”
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The Spirit Speaks
I seemingly melted into the table as if I were floating on the ocean. I listened to the soft sounds of music and the gentle hum of the fan, and even the slow steady breaths of my massage therapist. Then, right then and there, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me:
“My daughter, why do you let yourself get so worked up in this world — in this life? The same way you have finally melted into this table is the same way you should melt into Me. I long for you to have the type of relationship with Me, so that when you feel overwhelmed — or even when you just desire to feel me near — you can lay your body into Me, feel My arms drawing you close, and hear the gentle sounds of our hearts beating as one. Take long deep breaths with Me, My child, and together with Me leading the way, we can travel the road of life. I promise, if you give Me complete control and relax into relationship with Me, it won’t always be easy, but you will always know I am there, and you will be in My presence.”
I lay there and cried silent tears as I listened to the Holy Spirit. You’ll never believe what happened next. I fell asleep — me, the person who never relaxes fully.
My massage therapist said it was time to roll over. For a moment I had no idea where I was. I thought I was in a dream. When I realized I had fallen asleep, my heart rejoiced. I couldn’t believe it. Who would have ever thought that during a massage would be the time that God would remind me how important it is to cherish the season I am in and relax into it?
Stop worrying about tomorrow, and stop trying to make your life happen. Allow God to be fully engaged with you. Seek Him diligently, and the rest will fall into place just as you need it to. Let’s not forget what the Scripture tells us in Matthew 11:28–30. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…”
A Prayer for Relaxation
Oh Jesus, how I long to relax into You every day. I pray that Your love surrounds me, draws me in and keeps me close. Let me not forget all the ways in which Your Word tells me that it’s OK to just breathe and allow You to lead. Your Word tells me to be still (Psalm 37:7 and 46:10), to not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:25–34) and to allow You to give rest to my soul (Jeremiah 6:16, Matthew 11:28–30). Father, You are so loving and giving, and Your mercies are new every morning. You are faithful even though we don’t deserve it — especially when we don’t deserve it. You are so good! Would you remind me every day to melt into You, feel Your arms around me, listen carefully as You breathe in sync with me, and most importantly to relax into relationship with You? My heart cannot contain the love I have for You, and I know that doesn’t even begin to match up to Your love for me. I am so thankful and so blessed. In Your precious name I pray, amen.
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Valerie Fritchie is a local ministerial candidate at Mars Hill Free Methodist Church in Indianapolis. Fritchie and her family have attended Mars Hill FMC for 20 years. She has been a Christian since age 5 when she also chose to be baptized. She and her husband, Michael, have been married for 26 years, and they have three amazing young adult children who are serving their country. She has a master’s degree in language education and has been teaching for 18 years. One of her greatest accomplishments is publishing a children’s book, “Promise Me We Will Dance in the Rain.” She sums up her life with one word: blessed.
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